Embedded Files
The next day, Sonic knocked on the door to Uncle Chuck’s lab. After a few moments, Chuck opened the door.
“Ah, Sonic! Come in!” Chuck beamed, “I think you’ll like what I’ve done”
Sonic entered the lab. He couldn’t help but note how different it was to Doctor Kintobor’s. Clean, tidy, well-organised and everything in its place. Sonic had no doubt Kintobor’s lab layout made perfect sense to him but, well, as with a great many things concerning the doc, it didn’t make much sense to Sonic.
Chuck led Sonic over to a table where a small object was covered by a cloth.
“I was up all night working on these,” Chuck said.
“Oh, Uncle Chuck, you didn’t have to—”
“Nonsense, my boy,” Chuck interrupted, “When Doctor Ovi Kintobor tells you something is the key to changing the face of Mobius, you believe him! Besides, I’m sure I’ll be able to get him to return the favour and have him tinker with the Roboticizer!”
Sonic decided that all sounded pretty fair.
“Now,” Chuck began, “I followed Doctor Kintobor’s instructions to the letter when it came to materials, design and shape. But he didn’t provide any instructions on colour. So I modelled them after my own footwear, I hope you don’t mind”
Sonic looked down at Uncle Chuck’s shoes. Chuck was wearing a pair of red trainers with two gold bands to break up the design. A pair of red socks finished the ensemble.
“No problems at all, Uncle Chuck,” Sonic smiled.
Chuck cleared his throat, “Ahem- presenting: the Friction-Reducing Power Sneakers!”
Chuck whisked away the cloth and Sonic could hardly believe his eyes. He had seriously never seen a pair of shoes that cool in his life. A bright, beautiful red shone back at him, with clean, crisp white soles underneath and a similarly clean and brilliant white breaking up the red. A brand new pair of white socks were tucked into the shoes.
“Holy cow,” Sonic breathed.
“Like ‘em?” Chuck smiled, “Like I said, I modelled them after my own a little but I changed the design. These seem more your style”
“Like them? Uncle Chuck, I love them! Thank you so much! You’ve…” Sonic caught himself getting emotional but then restarted, “You’ve been so kind to me since I got here. I’m going to make sure I do everything I can to help you and Doctor Kintobor make the world a better place”
“That’s as good as anyone could ever ask, my boy!” Chuck laughed, “Now, why don’t you put them on?”
Sonic pulled off his old trainers and slid on the brand new socks. The soft cotton felt wonderful on his feet. Then Sonic put the Power Sneakers on, sliding them effortlessly over his feet.
“The idea is,” Chuck explained, “that the shoes reduce frictional rub on your feet, allowing you better and more comfortable movement without the risk of blisters or sores. You could run for hours at a time in those and they’d be no worse for wear! Plus, as a bonus, the materials used are stain repellent- heck, you could jump in a swamp and those things would come out clean as a whistle!”
“They feel amazing. I’ve never had shoes this comfortable before!” Sonic was astounded at how comfy the footwear was. Sonic hopped to his feet and took a good look at his new kicks.
“Well, I reckon you ought to show them off to their designer! Go give Doctor Kintobor my regards- oh, and this!” Chuck handed Sonic a small piece of paper.
“What’s this?” Sonic asked.
“My invoice! Minus a ten percent colleague discount!”
“Thanks, Uncle Chuck,” Sonic grinned, “You’re the best”
Sonic shot off like a space rocket out of Chuck’s laboratory door, kicking up papers. Chuck was amazed. There was no question, the improvement was immediate.
A mere minute later, Sonic had arrived at Kintobor’s lab once more. Climbing in through the secret hatch, he excitedly called out, “Doc, I love ‘em! They’re just what we needed to make me go even faster!”
Kintobor walked over to Sonic, “No, no, Sonic- these Friction-Reducing Power Sneakers don’t make you faster. They merely allow you to fully tap in to just how fast you are innately! Your speed is your natural gift- these trainers simply allow you to use it”
Sonic was thrilled, “Doc, I don’t know what to say. Thank you for these”
“Not at all, Sonic- besides, as you know, I intend to run some tests on your speed! So, if you want to pay me back, why not hop onto this?” Kintobor motioned towards a large machine in the corner. It housed a wheel rather like the drum of a washing machine but much bigger. It didn’t take Sonic much to figure out it was a circular treadmill.
“What do you call this one, doc?” Sonic asked.
“This, Sonic, is the Kinetic Gyratoscope!”
Sonic shot Kintobor a wry smile, “Trademark Kintobor Enterprises?”
“Naturally, my dear boy,” Kintobor smiled back.
***
Mere moments later, Sonic was in place on the treadmill of the Gyratoscope.
“Now, what sets this apart from any ordinary treadmill,” Kintobor explained, “is the myriad ways in which is can measure your speed. I’d like to try and gauge your top speed if at all possible- that will help us determine the best possible course of action going forwards”
“Ready when you are, Doctor K,” Sonic gave a thumbs up as Kintobor crossed over towards a control panel.
“Activating Kinetic Gyratoscope now!” Kintobor announced, pressing a button which caused the machine to clunk-wshh into life. Sonic began moving at walking speed before quickly switching into a brisk jog of twenty-five miles per hour. Kintobor monitored Sonic’s speed on the LED readout on the screen next to him.
“Hey, doc, these Power Sneakers are real cool!” Sonic said, gushing with adoration at his new footwear.
“I’m glad you like them, Sonic! The colour scheme is rather nice too!”
“Yeah, Uncle Chuck used his own shoes as a base!” Sonic explained as his speed crept up to a decent run of two-hundred-and-fifty-seven miles per hour, “But mine are a bit shinier, I have to say!”
The control panel pinged at Kintobor and he looked at the speed readout. The number was climbing higher.
And higher.
And higher.
When the readout hit four-hundred-and-seventy-five miles per hour, Kintobor began to get nervous at the Gyratoscope began to make a loud rattling noise.
“Sonic, stop!” Kintobor exclaimed, “The Gyratoscope can’t take any more!”
But Sonic was already in the zone. His feet pounded hard against the treadmill but he barely felt a thing. Sonic was loving the feeling of moving so fast, he didn’t hear Kintobor’s protestations- or the increasingly loud sounds of complaint emanating from the Gyratoscope.
Kintobor noticed the LED readout now read seven-hundred-and-fifty-eight miles per hour.
In a panic, Kintobor cried out, “Sonic!”
But it was too late.
An almighty explosion shook the laboratory as the Kinetic Gyratoscope detonated, hurling Kintobor across the room as the sound barrier was shattered.
For a few moments after the explosion settled, the lab fell silent. Kintobor, his glasses cracked, pulled himself up to his feet. The doctor coughed to clear his lungs and throat of the dust that had been kicked up in the explosion.
“Sonic?” Kintobor managed to splutter, “Sonic are you alright?”
As the last of the dust began to settle, a form became visible to Kintobor.
“Don’t worry about me, doc,” Sonic replied, “In fact, I’ve never felt better”
Kintobor looked at Sonic, shocked and amazed. His spines had been fused together into a sleeker, more streamlined formation. More than that, however, Sonic wasn’t brown any more.
Sonic was blue.
Next to his feet was the LED readout, sparking and blinking out of life. The numbers on it read “761” before it fizzed out of service.
“My word!” Kintobor exclaimed, “Sonic, you’ve changed! I think you’ve gone blue from the shock waves. Not to mention the Cobalt Effect!”
“The Cobalt Effect?” Sonic raised an eyebrow.
“Yes! Very rare, but it isn’t totally unheard of- you’ve become cobalt blue as a result of the physical stress to your body!”
Sonic stared down at himself, “Oh yeah. So I have!”
“Is that all you have to say for yourself?!” Kintobor was take aback, “Sonic, you must be in shock!”
“Relax, doc. I like it! Blue’s a cool colour, anyway, everyone knows that! It’s no big deal!”
“No big deal? Sonic, you clocked up seven-hundred-and-sixty-one miles per hour!” Kintobor let out an exhilarated laugh, “You’ve really earned your name now! You smashed the sound barrier! That explosion was a sonic boom! Get it? Sonic boom! Like you!”
Kintobor laughed giddily. If anyone in the lab was in shock, it probably wasn’t Sonic.
“In fact, you know what? We should call you Super Sonic!”
Sonic looked at himself in the mirror, “Not bad at all…”
“But here’s the kicker, Sonic!” Kintobor continued, “The speed of light is a fraction above seven-hundred-and-sixty-one miles per hour- but that doesn’t mean that’s your top speed! Why, I hypothesise that you could go even faster! Especially now you’re sporting this new streamlined appearance! As a matter of fact, I bet you could reach speeds in excess of—”
“That’s all well and good, doc,” Sonic raised a hand to interject, “but what about getting some food? All that running’s made me hungry!”
And, with that, the subject of the most revolutionary kinetic experiment in history headed off towards Uncle Chuck’s diner, Doctor Kintobor in tow, for a double cheeseburger and large fries.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse